Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $267.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $243.50 to $267.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

ESS has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $261.05.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ESS opened at $278.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $267.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.40. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $284.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,943 shares during the period. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,802,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,304,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.